US Justice Department and TikTok reach $400 million children's privacy settlement
In a significant development, the U.S. Department of Justice and TikTok have settled a lawsuit alleging the short-video app violated children's online privacy. The Justice Department had initiated legal action against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, in 2024 for allegedly breaching the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The law mandates that services targeting children under 13 must obtain parental consent before collecting personal information. Allegations included illicit collection of data from users under 13, thus violating COPPA. The settlement amount is $400 million. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, eliminating the possibility of re-litigation.
In January, ByteDance had agreed to a plan to establish a majority American-owned joint venture to safeguard U.S. data and circumvent a potential U.S. ban on the app, which boasts more than 200 million users in America.
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